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Description

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At Toronto Rehab our goal is to advance rehabilitation and enhance quality of life by pushing the frontiers of rehabilitation science As a fully affiliated and specialized teaching hospital of the University of Toronto we do everything humanly possible to generate new knowledge put it into practice and share our discoveries with others

We are the largest rehabilitation hospital in Canada and train the health care professionals of tomorrow in all areas of rehabilitation and complex continuing care

Our Vision
To advance rehabilitation and enhance quality of life

Our Mission
We partner with individuals their families and supporting communities in innovative effective adult rehabilitation complex continuing care and longterm care In affiliation with the University of Toronto we lead the integration of service research and education and the development of a coordinated rehabilitation system

Welcome to the website of Toronto Rehab a leader in rehabilitation science dedicated to doing everything humanly possible to help adults triumph over adversity

As Canadas largest academic hospital specializing in adult rehabilitation complex continuing care and longterm care our focus is to help those who experience disabling injury or illness to rebuild their lives We also strive to advance the practice of rehabilitation science through research education and knowledge sharing

Our team of outstanding clinicians researchers administrative and support staff and volunteers is passionately committed to Toronto Rehabs vision of advancing rehabilitation and enhancing quality of life for Canadians living with disabling illness or injury

I invite you to explore our website to learn more about our programs in patient care education and research You may also want to take this opportunity to find out how you can support the work of Toronto Rehab either through a gift to the Foundation or as a volunteer

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website It is just one of the many ways Toronto Rehab shares information with health care professionals and the community

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History

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Toronto Rehab celebrated its 10th Anniversary on November 2 2008 These are some of the biggest milestones in patient care research and education the hospital achieved during its first decade of doing everything humanly possible to advance rehabilitation and enhance quality of life

Below is a quick snapshot of our history For a more detailed timeline please visit the special 10th anniversary section of our website

1874
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Opened
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened as a chronic and longterm care facility It began offering physiotherapy and occupational therapy in the 1930s and created a dedicated rehabilitation program in the 1970s

1886
Hillcrest Hospital Began Operations
Hillcrest Hospital began providing longterm care and gradually added services such as occupational therapy In the 1970s it developed new rehabilitation programs for stroke survivors amputees and cardiac patients

1922
Toronto Rehabilitation Centre Founded
The Toronto Rehabilitation Centre was founded to meet the rehabilitation needs of Canadians wounded in the First World War It was the first freestanding rehab facility in North America and later became home to the first outpatient cardiac program in Ontario

1945
Lyndhurst Hospital Opened
Lyndhurst Hospital was created to provide rehabilitation services for Second World War veterans who had suffered spinal cord injuries It was the first rehab hospital of its kind in North America and soon became internationally renowned

1997
Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto Established
The Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto was created by the merger of The Queen Elizabeth and Hillcrest Hospitals

1998
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Created
Toronto Rehab was created by the amalgamation of the Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto the Toronto Rehabilitation Centre and Lyndhurst Hospital

1999
Foundations Merged
The Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto Foundation and the Lyndhurst Hospital Foundation merged to create the Toronto Rehab Foundation

2000
Unprecedented Research Investment Received
Ontario Minister of Health and LongTerm Care Elizabeth Witmer announced an unprecedented 15M grant over five years to fund rehabilitation research at Toronto Rehab The Toronto Rehab Foundation augmented this with a further commitment of 1M annually

2000
First Research Chairs Created
Toronto Rehabs first five research chairs were created and two were fully funded the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Chair at the University of Toronto and the Saunderson Family Chair in Acquired Brain Injury Research at Toronto Rehab

2001
Multiple Trauma and Oncology Rehab Services Launched
The Musculoskeletal Rehab Program launched a Multiple Trauma Rehab Service for people who experience multiple injuries often as a result of traumatic circumstances It also launched the citys only Oncology Rehabilitation Service which specializes in rehabilitation services for people who have cancer of the musculoskeletal system

2001
New Specialty Spinal Cord Clinics Added
The Spinal Cord Rehab Program completed the addition of new specialty outpatient clinics including a skin and wound clinic a bone densitometry lab and a gynecology clinic to complement the existing seating urology and assistive technology clinics

2002
Hemodialysis Service Launched
Toronto Rehab built a new dialysis suite at University Centre and began providing dialysis treatments for Geriatric Rehab and Complex Continuing Care patients in collaboration with the University Health Network

2003
Link Between Sleep Apnea and Heart Function Discovered
Toronto Rehab researchers were the first to show that treating sleep apnea in people with congestive heart failure improves their heart function

2004
Cardiac Diabetes Service Launched
The Cardiac Rehab and Secondary Prevention Program launched the specialized Diabetes Exercise and Healthy Lifestyle Service to help adults living with diabetes to improve their quality of life

2004
Lakeside LongTerm Care Centre Grand Opening
Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman officially opened Toronto Rehabs newest facility Lakeside LongTerm Care Centre This brought the number of Toronto Rehabs clinical programs to seven

2004
IPE Student Placement Program Introduced
Toronto Rehab is the first Torontoarea hospital to develop an interprofessional education IPE student placement program

2005
Scholarship for Research Students with Disabilities Launched
Toronto Rehab launched an innovative Scholarship in Rehabilitationrelated Research for Students with Disabilities to involve people with disabilities in rehabilitation research by supporting and mentoring them to become scientists TD Bank Financial Group generously provided funding

2005
New FES Technique Pioneered
Toronto Rehab researchers pioneered a new application for Functional Electrical Stimulation FES to teach damaged muscles to move again in people paralyzed by stroke and spinal cord injury restoring unprecedented levels of balance walking and grasping

2006
FHRAT Program Introduced
The Musculoskeletal Rehab Program developed a successful and costeffective model of care for hip fracture patients who have cognitive impairments called Fractured Hip Rapid Assessment and Treatment FHRAT Toronto Rehab trained hundreds of health care practitioners to roll out the new model in 34 hospitals across the GTA

2006
New Palliative Care Unit Opened
The Complex Continuing Care Program opened a palliative care unit to provide treatment to relieve symptoms of faradvanced lifethreatening illnesses and help people live as comfortably as possible when a cure is not available

2007
Major Renovations Completed at Lyndhurst Centre
Toronto Rehab completed major renovations at Lyndhurst Centre as part of an ambitious multimillion dollar redevelopment plan

2007
First FICCDAT Conference Hosted
Toronto Rehab cohosted with March of Dimes Canada the Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving Disability Aging and Technology This conference was the first of its kind and attracted more than 1100 people from more than 60 countries

2007
Everything Humanly Possible The Campaign for Toronto Rehab Launched
The Toronto Rehab Foundation launched the public phase of a 60million capital campaign Everything Humanly Possible The Campaign for Toronto Rehab

2007
iDAPT Announced
Toronto Rehab announced its 36 million research initiative iDAPT Intelligent Design for Adaptive Participation and Technology which will bring together hundreds of scientists research students clinicians social scientists engineers and industrial designers from across Canada and beyond and stateoftheart technology in a collaborative venture

2007
Living WithLiving Well Series Initiated
Toronto Rehab launched a free public education series to help people learn to live with and prevent disease injury or agerelated conditions and to empower them to make positive choices to improve their health and quality of life

2007
First 5M Personal Donation Received
The Toronto Rehab Foundation received the largest personal donation to date In recognition of the 5M gift the Queen Elizabeth Centre was renamed The EW Bickle Centre for Complex Continuing Care

2008
New Hand Hygiene Technology Created
Toronto Rehab researchers developed new hand hygiene technology to help professional caregivers reduce hospitalacquired infection rates and provide safer care for patients

2008
Renovation at Bickle Centre Started
An 8M renovation of the EW Bickle Centre for Complex Continuing Care is started as part of an ambitious multimillion dollar redevelopment plan It will enhance patient safety and significantly improve patients living environment

2008
Construction Began at University Centre
Construction began at University Centre the keystone of an ambitious multimillion dollar redevelopment plan When complete Toronto Rehabs University Centre will be a more modern hospital with facilities better designed to care for adults undergoing rehabilitation for serious injury and illness including stroke brain injury and multiple traumas and cancer The redevelopment will also include the creation of iDAPT one of the worlds most advanced rehabilitation research facilities